After Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said on ESPN’s Summer League broadcast on Tuesday that Khris Middleton underwent surgery this summer, Shams Charania and Eric Nehm of The Athletic have provided the details. According to Charania and Nehm, Middleton is recovering from two separate procedures.
The first was an arthroscopic surgery on Middleton’s left ankle to address an injury that plagued him throughout the 2023-24 season. The Bucks forward originally sprained the ankle on Feb. 6 and said a month later that he had never experienced a sprain as bad as that one — it ultimately kept him on the shelf for nearly a month-and-a-half, costing him 16 games.
Middleton also underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his right ankle, per The Athletic’s duo, to clean up a lingering issue. He sprained his right ankle in Game 2 of the team’s first-round postseason series vs. Indiana.
The procedure on Middleton’s left ankle occurred shortly after the Bucks were eliminated in the playoffs in May, while the second procedure on the right ankle was completed in mid-June.
Although it may not be welcome news for Bucks fans that Middleton — whose effectiveness has been compromised by injury issues in recent years — is recovering from surgeries on both ankles, Charania and Nehm say the recovery process is going well.
The 32-year-old was walking around without pain or discomfort in Las Vegas over the weekend and has already begun light on-court workouts, league sources tell The Athletic. The expectation is that Middleton will be ready to go for the start of the 2024-25 season.
Middleton’s numbers are down over the past two regular seasons as he has struggled to stay healthy, but he performed more like his old self during the postseason this spring, helping to keep the Bucks in the series vs. the Pacers with Giannis Antetokounmpo unavailable and Damian Lillard sidelined for two games. He averaged 24.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists in those six games, making 48.2% of his shots from the field and 90.0% of his free throws.
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